A tribal jirga of Ahmedzai Wazirs on Tuesday decided that tribesmen would continue searching for Uzbek militants in South Waziristan, a tribal elder and witnesses told Daily Times on Tuesday. “The search for wanted people (Uzbek militants) will continue,” tribal elder Shireen Jan told the jirga in Azam Warsak. A spokesman for Maulvi Nazir-led militants claimed on Monday that Uzbek militants had been successfully chased out of South Waziristan. Tuesday’s jirga at Azam Warsak also decided that anyone guilty of sheltering Uzbek militants and their tribal supporters would be fined Rs 1 million and their homes demolished. “The border areas with Balochistan and North Waziristan will be searched for the fleeing Uzbeks,” Jan, who co-led the campaign against the Uzbek militants, told the jirga, adding that 400 volunteers would participate in the search campaign.
Official figures said that at least 240 Uzbek militants had been killed, while more than 50 tribal militants loyal to Maulvi Nazir had died in the clashes between the two sides in the last few days. Jan said the jirga would meet again two days later in Wana bazaar to take stock of the situation. “We must make sure that the Uzbeks and their local supporters do not resurface,” the elder told the tribesmen. Sources told Daily Times that key pro-Uzbek commanders had gone underground and the volunteers had been directed to search for them too.